Comments on: Settling the Score: Saturday’s results

By: cur68

cur68 — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 00:56:39 +0000

Francophone curling, bleh. My heart breaks for you. That’s capital punishment right there. Well they don’t do anything like shirt-off goal celebrations nor do they actually lay hands on one another; all scrapping is of the swear-on-the-church type variety. Boring is not a strong enough word to describe the levels of low pressure somnolence that is curling. No comparison whatsoever to ladies football. Mind you Cheryl Bernard, skip of the Canadian Ladies Olympic Team, was certainly easy on the eyes. Hurry hard indeed…

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 00:29:52 +0000

Don’t forget to keep my mug warm for me, Bubba.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 00:28:50 +0000

The problem is, several of those “plus” points could also be applied to curling. Oh, brother…I’ve been bored by backandofrthandbackandforthandbackandforthball most of my life, but one afternoon during a blizzard in Mte. Ste. Anne, Quebec while the winter Olympics were being played out many years ago, sitting with my mug of hot mulled cider and thawing out from a logn day’s snowmobiling – yes, this was the same vacation week as my encounter with the sled dogs – someone turned on the big screen in the lobby den, you know, the one set back into the big stone wall above the fireplace, and there were people doing hilarious things with ice skates, brooms, and the biggest menthol eucalyptus throat lozenge I had ever seen. I don’t think anything ever struck me as ridiculous as what went on up on that screen – thank Buddha the announcers were speaking French or I might have hairline fractured my ribs. The apres-ski bunch were giving me dirty looks because I was laughing so hard.

But I must admit, given the camera angles, I was treated to some lovely tushies in tight thermal spandex.

By: APBA Guy

APBA Guy — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 21:18:53 +0000

Thanks Len, my mistake. No coffee yet.

By: cur68

cur68 — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 19:49:35 +0000

Ahhh Gator, we shall have to see what we can do about thickening your corrugated old skin when it comes to Ladies Football. See that ‘backandforth’ stuff applies to the men’s game. The ladies have a certain amount more going for them than do the blokes. Let me enumerate…

1) Shirt off goal celebrations are far more appealing.
2) Hope Solo represents the ultimate challenge in ‘sneaking one past the goalie’.
3)The ladies don’t flop around with imaginary injuries and heap scorn on those that do. This is the correct state of affairs for floppers.
4) When they scrap it has the appeal of a sweaty mud wrestling match.
5) Not a gram of cellulite in sight in spite of some long legs flashing around. Lets count this one for 2 shall we?
6)There is every chance that a goodly number of those ladies ‘bat for the other team’. I’m in favor of seeing that as much as possible and the ushers at Safeco can kiss my hairy black a$$ if they mind that.
7)They do a wonderful line in calendars.
8) It really is a very exciting brand of football, in spite of the penchant for singing ‘Born In The USA’ out of key.

I strongly recommend the Ladies World Cup to you.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 18:46:04 +0000

Backandforthandbackandforthandbackandforthball. With jingoism as the spice. Zzzzzzzzz….

By: yankeesfanlen

yankeesfanlen — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 18:26:22 +0000

Greetings, APBA. I think you mean Jared. We returned Jeff as defective years ago, but we are still waiting for a replacement under warranty.

By: APBA Guy

APBA Guy — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 18:15:27 +0000

Rich Harden pitched well enough in Game 2 of a real double-header yesterday to earn the split against the Angels. Game 1 was another Jeff Weaver Ode to Free Agency. What’s a 1.90 ERA starting pitcher worth these days? What’s he worth when Scott Boras is his agent? Hello Yankees. What will his ERA be when he isn’t pitching against the A’s and the Mariners 10 times a year?

Anyway, the Angels are down 1-2 in the series so far. That’s no way to gain ground against the Rangers, who got 2 HR’s by Kinsler against the King. In Safeco. That’s amazing.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 17:51:40 +0000

With Marmol out of the way for a while, it was Carlos Zambrano’s turn to exhibit all the symptoms of that Indonesian mutant prion-vectored brain disorder “Die Vloek van der Geitbok.” If you’re throwing badly enough to let this Feesh team pound you for thirteen runs on fourteen hits, there’s something pathological going on. The Iron Giant divided his long-range activities fairly evenly between a laser beam and a moonshot and Tweeter, who hates being left out, uncorked a solo dinger of his own.

And of course the unlikely stuff – Javier Vasquez pitching yet another good game with ten strikeouts (ten Cub strikeouts go in the book as five regular strikeouts) – is worth noting. Javy’s last season and first third of this one were bad enough that he’s going to need to remain consistent through September for most folks to believe that he’s ba-a-a-ack, but it should be said that he’s stepped up with style to pick up the slack for JJ. Credit where it’s due, folks.

By: spudchukar

spudchukar — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 17:49:09 +0000

It is rare, but it does make life more exciting.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 17:43:22 +0000

Must feel great to be on the right side of the odds for a change, eh?

By: spudchukar

spudchukar — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 17:06:01 +0000

The odds are better that Mila Kunis, comes crawling to my doorstep begging me for a date, than Eric Chavez finishes the rest of the season healthy.

By: yankeesfanlen

yankeesfanlen — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 16:32:13 +0000

Hi cur – Today will be a showdown or letdown for friends of the Universe today. I would extremely dislike to hate on poor Phil, hoping he doesn’t start shaky. As uyf says, hoping we get Chavez back cause Nunezcompoop is a disaster at third, even if good with the bat. And no aid from Beep-beep, likely to continue his CSI (Cigar store Indian) approach.
Want some Swish-power today!

By: cur68

cur68 — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 16:27:38 +0000

‘Army, if the RC is at work in RNK then he/she is slipping. Hallmark of the RC is discretion, indetectability and results. Fail on 2 of 3.

Now if the Japanese and American teams were up for discussion we might be getting somewhere with the RC being involved. Hmmm…what have your travel plans been like buddy? The American team is doing awfully well, isn’t it?

By: cur68

cur68 — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 16:21:55 +0000

A close one as predicted yesterday Len. Cap’n Crunch was as expected. Romero was not bad, but the D let him down for a couple of runs. That 4 -1 loss should really be a 2 or 3 – 1 loss. Nunez was better than previous, but where have you gone Alex Rodriguez? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you (Woo, woo, woo)…First pitch in 45 minutes; Hughes (0-2) vs Villanueva (5-1). I like the Beaverboy’s chances.

By: cur68

cur68 — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 16:12:08 +0000

Hey! Stop looting the Jays for your easily-gonna’-win-the-division-team! Bad enough you scammed our ace off of us, you can’t have our error prone third/short/1stbaseman, too. Tell you what, take f%$king Bieber. We’ll give him to you…

In all seriousness, you lot need a right hand bat real bad, if HBT comments and Cholly are anything to go by. Wily Mo Peña just got sent back to the minors. He has experience playing the infield (1st and 3rd), can hit for serious power and deserves a job in MLB at least as much as Adam Dunn. Why not Wily Mo Peña? He’s quick as a cat and I bet he would do a pretty good job for the Phills. He’d come cheap, too.

By: uyf1950

uyf1950 — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 15:28:50 +0000

My friend, assuming all goes well with Chavez rehab assignment he should be ready to join the Yankees in about a week or so. Let’s cross our fingers and hope all goes well and that he can remain healthy for the balance of the season. Personally I would rather see him manning 3rd base in A-Rod’s absence then Nunez. That’s just my opinion.

By: drmonkeyarmy

drmonkeyarmy — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 14:23:36 +0000

Cur,
Could a Rogue Chemist be at work in North Korea?
http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/id/6775108/2011-women-world-cup-five-north-koreans-positive-steroids

By: aclassyguyfromaclassytown

aclassyguyfromaclassytown — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 14:05:52 +0000

I’m loving that the braves lose everytime the Fightins do.

By: proudlycanadian

proudlycanadian — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 13:40:01 +0000

He can play third and first.

By: yankeesfanlen

yankeesfanlen — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 13:27:29 +0000

Now we have until Thursday when CC takes on Big Game James in Tampa to see what our box of chocolates rotation has to offer. Would not surprise me if the Universe got an arm and a bat before the deadline, I had to threaten Gardner yesterday to have him hit a couple of doubles, and Beep-beep, semi-retired, now hits on Saturdays.
The defense is completely pathetic for a Yankees team. Nunezcompoop, you’re on notice.

By: drmonkeyarmy

drmonkeyarmy — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 13:21:04 +0000

He’d be an obvious upgrade. Can he play multiple infield positions?

By: proudlycanadian

proudlycanadian — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 13:17:17 +0000

E5 can probably be had from the Jays. Encarnacion can make some great plays in the field. His throwing is sometimes questionable, but he can hit with power.

By: drmonkeyarmy

drmonkeyarmy — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 13:15:46 +0000

On the Pharm:
Victorino was 3-5 with a double last night for AA Reading. He appears ready to go which is obviously good news. Also for Reading, Lidge pitched a perfect inning of relief. One more good outing in AA and I think he makes the move to the Iron Pigs for several more outings. I think he will be back in Philadelphia in about 2 weeks barring any setbacks. I think that is also good news for the Phillies. I don’t know how much more of Herndon, Baez, and Carpenter I can stomach. Significant upgrade. I do, however, think the Phillies need to continually pursuit of an additionally bullpen arm. As witnessed habitually throughout the season, the back end of the bullpen is excellent, but the underbelly is terrible. Makes comebacks extremely difficult. On a different note, Jon Singleton was back in the line-up for Clearwater and had 2 hits and 2 RBI. Not sure why he was pulled on Friday, but the situation seem to have resolved itself. Also, I wasn’t quite correct in my assessment of the minor league 3B for the Phillies. They do have a 23 year old in AA with some pop in his bat. The problem is, he can’t field. Already 18 errors this season.

By: drmonkeyarmy

drmonkeyarmy — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 13:09:51 +0000

Speaking of Valdez and the utility infielder role; the Phillies might want to look into acquiring a reasonable guy for that role. With the balky back of Polanco, the sore foot of Rollins, and the wonky knee of Utley it could be a vital role. I don’t feel comfortable with significant action seen by Valdez or Martinez. In fact, I think it is high time to say goodbye to Valdez….who only has a role with this team because he was marginally better than Juan Castro. Also, in the acquisition front, I don’t think the Phillies should make a move for the sake of making a move. Sure they could use a right handed bat, but only if it is a significant upgrade. I do not view Ludwick, Willingham, or whoever as giant upgrades. Only Hunter Pence would be said upgrade. In a potential deal for Pence, I do not think it would be wise to include Dom Brown. Some fans don’t see his upside, however, I think it is plain as day. His improvement at the plate not only since last year but from earlier this season is profound. I only see him working to improve. His defensive play needs to be tightened, but I think it stems from him thinking to fast rather then something fundamentally wrong with him. Furthermore, Ibanez is on a role again and would not want to see him benched for a marginal player.

By: drmonkeyarmy

drmonkeyarmy — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 13:03:40 +0000

While Hamels did not pitch well yesterday, his defense certainly didn’t do him any favors. Considering Hamels’ past against the Mets and the Niese’s performances against the Phillies, it was not shocking that the Phillies lost. However, thanks to the Nationals no ground was lost. Can Charlie please stop playing Wilson Valdez. He might be the worst player in baseball. I do not know what the Philadelphia fascination is with this guy, but he is terrible. He can’t hit and is a double play machine. His defense is lacking as well this year. He is a below average second baseman and horrible at 3rd. People will focus on the Howard/Utley miscue in the 1st inning, but the 3rd inning Hairston “double” should have been a played made by Valdez. With Polanco out, the best option is Martinez. He can’t hit either but at least can flash some leather.